Approaches to the measurement of effectiveness and efficiency in medical care: the use by employers of community-wide population-based patterns of care.
One of the major problems currently facing health care purchasers and providers is the difference in perspective each brings to the health care debate. Clinicians tend to think in terms of individual patients. Health care policy analysts in both public and private sectors, hospital and health maintenance organization managers, insurance executives, business purchasers of health care, and epidemiologists tend to think in terms of defined populations. This difference makes communication difficult. The routine epidemiologic surveillance of medical care, using modern microcomputer techniques, can be an important tool in improving communications among these parties. An example of a project which accomplished that goal at General Electric is described. The implications of variations in population based per capita rates of medical care in various settings are described.
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Codman Research Group, Lyme, NH 03768.
D004526:Efficiency; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods*; D009786:Occupational Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D014481:United States; D014600:Utilization Review